DENVER — Now that the U.S. has officially pulled out of the World Health Organization, Colorado leaders say they are stepping in.
In a statement online from January of 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it withdrew from the WHO because of several failures, including mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a failure to adopt reforms and an inability for transparency and independence.
Governor Jared Polis and Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist, told Denver7 since then, they've officially applied to be a part of the Global Outbreak Alert Response Network as an individual state.
Both said this is necessary so the state can better monitor emerging threats, get more of a heads up if there is an outbreak, and added they want Colorado to keep getting that information even though the U.S. has pulled out of WHO.
"Health is really global, and when there's a disease outbreak somewhere, we need to know exactly what to look for in real time, how to control it and how to prevent it from hurting Coloradans," said Gov. Polis.
Health News
Democratic governors, including Gov. Jared Polis, form public health alliance
"The bird flu is a great example," added the Governor. "Colorado had to put down over a million birds that were infected. We've had several individuals humans that have tested positive for avian flu. So far, we haven't seen any human-to-human transmission, and we haven't seen severe health impact on those people. But the minute we see that anybody, anywhere else, if there's a variant or a mutation, we need to know that right away here, because avian flu is affecting chickens and some people across the world."
Health News
No bird flu human cases ID’d in Weld County following outbreak at egg-layer farm
"Some examples of how we would use that lead time would include things like establishing traveler monitoring systems," said Dr. Herliy. "So, if we know that we have returned travelers coming to Colorado from an area of the globe that's being affected — and this is something we did during the Ebola responses multiple times — we would establish those systems."
Dr. Herlihy said belonging to the WHO's Global Outbreak Alert Response Network could also help with making sure there is lab capacity and the right tests available should an outbreak occur.
The governor's office said other states, like California and Illinois, are also taking steps to join this same network, but that's different than the country as a whole participating.
"The more people participate in information exchange, the better. There's no doubt about that," Polis said. "I'm glad if other states are stepping up as well to join World Health Organization and their early Response Network. Frankly, the more participants there are the better off we'll all be."
The governor's offices said there is no fee to participate in this network. State leaders are expecting a quicker turn around to hear if their application was accepted.
